Recent discoveries of ground water pollution have necessitated the development of systems for eliminating the pollutants from the water table. Many such systems are extremely expensive, and can involve digging out the earth around the contaminated area, as well as other expensive procedures.
One particularly significant area of ground water pollution has been caused by leaking petroleum tanks petroleum deposits. In such contamination, the petroleum essentially floats on the surface of the water. In an effort to determine the existence or extent of such contamination of ground water, small wells on the order of two or four inches in diameter are frequently drilled in the area of suspected pollution. These wells, typically referred to as monitor wells, have historically been incapable of being used for recovery of the contaminants due to their small diameter.
One of the particular problems associated with such wells is that it is difficult to determine reliably and inexpensively the water level and the volume of contaminant. This in turn creates a difficulty in reliably removing the contaminant down to the water level.
Because of the widespread extent of petroleum contamination of ground water, both from leaking tanks and otherwise, there has been a need for a safe, inexpensive method of recovering the contaminant down to the surface of the water.
There has also been a need for a system for recovering ground water contaminants through monitor wells or other small access ports.